Saturday 9 January 2016

Preparing post Philippines!

And yet again it is 'that' time of year when I pack up my pink and grey back pack and take you with me to travel off to somewhere far and wide and extremely hot away from the revolting British Winter.

You may be pleased to know, that my travelling buddy for this years adventure is once again, the one and only, feisty and maybe slightly OCD, 'TC' (aka 'Travel Companion' due to her desire to remain anonymous should fame - or possibly infamy - be too much for her?!?) 

This year we will be checking out The Philippines. "Why the Philippines?" You may ask. Well after much discussion and agreement on Asia being the favoured option, it was then hard to find a country out in that particularly large continent that was hot, affordable, not a war zone and that neither of us have already been to. And after reading about The Rice Terraces on this particular archipelago being considered 'The Eighth Wonders of the World', well how could we miss it?

Due to the fact that 2015 having been a rather busy and hectic year for me, sadly unlike the previous four years when I've managed to take at least a month off, this time around is going to be a shorter trip of only two weeks. However, just like last years trip to Indonesia, we have opted to travel with Intrepid Adventure on one of their organised tours and unlike last year when there were only two other people on the trip with us (the two Jos) this time round the tour is completely full! There will be twelve of us traipsing around the main island and although we are travelling thousands of miles away, to prove what a small world we actually live in, it turns out, by pure coincidence that amongst our group of twelve are - 'the two Jos'!!!

I will give you a very quick run down on the events of last year since last we met and set the scene for this years trip: on returning to the UK in Feb I had a few weeks to wash my clothes and repack before going to visit my great friends Mitzi and Roger that live in Canada. And after a couple of weeks over there - and my birthday - I returned home and decided it was time to be a grown up again and move out from my friend Sandie's house where I have been renting a room for four years and to go back to living on my own in my flat in North Finchley.

And so, last August, I packed up my things, moved back to my flat, had it completely redecorated with bright colours (my mothers reaction to the pink wall in my living room: "Well it is quite bright, but you're the one that has to live with it every day!") then got myself a lodger - Kelly; the Welsh vegan, (so much for living on my own!?!?!) and met an amazing guy Tony: The South London Geezer. Now those of you unfamiliar with the North-South divide in London should be aware that those of 'us' North of the river Thames and those of 'them' South of The river Thames have a love/hate relationship (kinda like us Brits and the French - well sort of!?!) - and so through our shared interest (in each other!?!) I feel as though I am now doing my bit for race relations.

2015 has for me been filled with many highs and a couple of lows. Sadly an old friend of mine passed away suddenly at the age of 47. Yet again reminding me how short life is and that we really must grab opportunities whilst we can and make the most of them. And so TC and I booked this trip despite the fact that we have a rather large mountain to climb, a night camping on said mountain and a couple of days with trecks of 3-5 hours! And worst of all, a few of the places we will be staying in only have 'Asian style' toilets!!

I am not the fittest of people and since moving out of a three storey house into a ground floor flat my legs have forgotten what it's like to climb a flight of stairs let alone a mountain side!!

So no doubt there will be moments of anxiety and muscle ache! 

TC has yet again assured me that her OCD is greatly improved and all will be fine. Though I did see the blood drain from her face and a slight twitch appear above her left eye when 'The South London Geezer' told us of the time he had the worse case of food poisoning from rice. Because apparently if rice is cooled down slowly and not heated thoroughly then one can get a good old dose of Botchulism from it. Probably not the best story to tell TC a week before going to a country where rice is a staple part of their diet! And she has also expressed her deep concern about the possibility of having athlete's foot due to the tip of the fourth toe on her left foot being a bit tingly! 

That said, no doubt this trip will be filled with plenty of challenges and hopefully even more laughs - this year is my 'big birthday' so I intend to see it in with a few more adventurous stories under my belt.

We are due to arrive in Manila at 3:30 in the afternoon local time, so until then, I will bid you farewell and catch up with you in 28 degrees of heat - let's hope it doesn't set TC's tingly toes off!!

See you on the other side ....


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